


the young and the restless

by sweetsymphony



Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Jason Kyle Todd, M/M, NO CAPES, Richie Grayson, high society - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 23:30:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13087725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsymphony/pseuds/sweetsymphony
Summary: Dick snags a flute of champagne from a nearby waiter and tries to be inconspicuous about drinking it. Bruce won’t mind but it wouldn’t be great for either of them if the paparazzi catch him, he can already see the headline: “Wayne-Teen-Ward-Develops-Drinking-Problem-to-Cope-With-Sinful-Playboy-Lifestyle!”





	the young and the restless

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know. I had this saved to my computer for a long time.

“Who is this cutie? I didn’t know you had a younger brother Bruce?”

The pretty blonde woman peers at him over the gold rim of her champagne flute and her blood red lips curl into a wide smile. She rests a well-manicured hand on Dick’s shoulder and leans forward shakily until her generous cleavage is at his eye level, then chucks his chin up gently to meet her pretty brown eyes.

She’s beautiful in the way all of Bruce’s dates are; tall, exotic, thin and undeniably exquisite. No doubt some quickly rising starlet hoping to make a name for herself in the media, and being seen on Bruce’s arm is a surefire magazine cover.

“Richard is actually my ward.” Bruce corrects her easily, smiling his smarmy ‘Bruce Wayne’ smile and slipping an arm around her rail thin waist to draw her closer.

“Dick say hello to Paulette.” He orders sternly, gesturing toward Dick with his signature glass of single malt scotch _(it’s all Bruce ever drinks and Dick knows that at every one of these benefits and galas there is a bottle of 50-year old Highland Park behind the bar on the off chance that Bruce Wayne makes an appearance and wants a drink_ ).

In Paulette’s defense, it’s an easy mistake. He and Bruce are uncannily similar, not quite father and son, but relatives at least. They’ve got the same hair, ink black and feathery, sharp jaws, blue eyes eerily close in shades. However, unlike Bruce’s natural pallor, Dick is brown, a deep, dark shade of olive that earns him a double take every time he walks into one of these galas.

“Nice to meet you.” Dick offers her his best smile, bright and dripping with an easy, practiced charm. Paulette giggles, clearly pleased and rests a hand on his shoulder, leaning heavily into Bruce’s side.

“You are such a gorgeous little thing. Call me in a few years honey, I’ll rock your world.” She purrs and runs a sharp nail along the line of his jaw.

Bruce’s smile tightens imperceptivity and he pulls Paulette closer so he can fake whisper loudly in her ear. “You already forget who you came with baby?” and run his hand down her bare back until it rests firmly on the silk covered swell of her ass. The cover of tomorrows Inquisitor for sure, Paulette will be a household name in a month.

Dick is terribly uncomfortable. It is always hard to be around Bruce when he’s in full on ‘Bruce Wayne’ mode, but even more so when he’s got a girl on his arm. Tonight’s gala is particularly excruciating.

“I didn’t forget!” Paulette squeals when Bruce grabs her and downs the remainder of her champagne in one fast swig and they disappear back into the crowd, in a cloud of perfume and peppermint schnapps.

Dick sighs and takes another long look at his watch. He’s required to put in a minimum of two hours for every gala the Wayne Foundation hosts but tonight feels especially taxing. He’s not even sure what tonight’s festivities are in honor of. One thing he’s learned since entering high society is that uppity rich people don’t exactly need a reason to get together, no doubt the money is all going to some fantastic cause. He spies Bruce across the room, laughing with Commission Gordon and shaking hands with Mayor Hill.

It’s always hard to resonate the publics Bruce Wayne with the same guy who spent eight months learning Romani in secret so that Dick would always have someone to speak his first language with. He doesn’t understand Bruce’s need to put up such a vile public persona, but like most things between them, he really doesn’t press it.

Dick snags a flute of champagne from a nearby waiter and tries to be inconspicuous about drinking it. Bruce won’t mind but it wouldn’t be great for either of them if the paparazzi catch him, he can already see the headline _“Wayne-Teen-Ward-Develops-Drinking-Problem-to-Cope-With-Sinful-Playboy-Lifestyle!”_

Roy would love it.

Roy Harper hasn’t come to a gala since the year he got sloshed and pissed all over the oyster bar at a benefit for Smile Fund. Dick misses him like no other. At least then, the two of them could skulk around together in the Armani tuxes, stealing drinks from tables and pretending to be the posh princes their guardians expected. After that debacle Ollie had decided to cut his losses once and for all, and Roy’s mandatory attendance was a thing of the past.

Bruce and Roy have a strong mutual hate for each other, stemming from the fact that Bruce doesn’t approve of their “toxic relationship” and thinks Roy is a degenerate and a bad influence. Roy thinks Bruce is a controlling sociopath who is trying to remake Dick in his own idiotic image.

Both arguments have merit.

Whenever he and Roy are together, more often than not, trouble follows. He’s known the older boy since he was small, both of them becoming awkward additions to the social circuit after their media blitzed adoptions. They’d made fast friends, both out of necessity and mutual resentment and astonishingly their friendship had withstood the test of time. He’s just thinking of shooting Roy a quick text, and begging for a fast exit out of here, when a dulcet tone calls from behind.

“You look like you’re having a little too much fun.” Selina Kyle is a vision in velvet. Her soft form draped in emerald and dark waves slicked back into an elegant twist. She rests one soft, delicate palm in the crook of his elbow and sidles close to avoid being overheard.

“Party not up to your standards?”

Selina used to be a staple at these events when she and Bruce were in the height of their complicated _(and incredibly dramatic)_ romance, now she only makes a rare appearance as some passing dignitaries date when the occasion calls for it. He wonders if she and Bruce have already run into each other tonight or if he’s been careful to avoid her sly gaze. Privately, Dick thinks that the Selina Kyle is the only person whose opinion really matters to Bruce, no matter how much he tries to claim that it doesn't.

“It’s a bit dull for my tastes but a high society guy like myself knows how to make do.” He sneers expertly, voice taking on the same thick, syrupy 1950’s tone his guardian uses when he speaks to the press.

Selina laughs, low and throaty and presses closer into his side so she can talk directly into his ear “You always did know how to make the best out of a bad situation Richie.” She offers him a predatory feline grin and tugs gently on his arm. “Come with me kitten, I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

He lets her take lead and they wind their way through the ballroom, stopping occasionally so she can offer a gracious hello to everyone with a passing interest. He adopts her slow sultry pace, and nods when other men give him a clearly impressed look. Being on Selina’s arm, even for a few minutes is a rare and glorious feat for any man.

“Ah, here he is now. Richard Grayson, I’d like you to meet my darling nephew Jason Todd.”

Jason is. Tall.

At least six feet, terribly broad shouldered and dangerously handsome with dark green eyes, a swath of dark hair and a crooked grin that promises trouble. He offers Dick a wide warm hand to shake and if possible his smile grows even filthier.

And Dick is, predictably, intrigued. Not that he's got a type exactly but the confidence that radiates off of Jason is practically intoxicating. _(The height also helps)_

“Nice to meet you Richard. Auntie Sel wouldn’t shut up about you.”

“And I thought my ears were ringing.”

“Only good things kitten, I promise. Jason’s going to be staying with me from now on and I thought it would be just precious if my two favorite men got to know each other a bit.” Selina says demurely fluttering her eyelashes in a way that would surely drive most men wild. He can’t see the relation between the two really but they’ve both got dark hair and smooth pale skin and are _ridiculously_ attractive which could certainly be family traits.

“Richie here is the toast of the town and Jason you were just telling me how much you wanted to join the social circuit.” She flags down a passing server with just a graceful lift of her palm and the three of them snag flutes of champagne to sip. "It's a match made in heaven."

Dick laughs and shakes his head at that. “If you’re looking for a proper introduction to the social scene I’m afraid you’ll have to find someone else. I only do what’s required of me and that sticking to Wayne family functions.”

Jason offers him a lazy grin and idly shoves his hand into the pockets of his perfectly cut suit. “Selina jokes. She knows I’d rather piss glass than expose myself to anymore of this bullshit than absolutely necessary. I don’t exactly fit in around here.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” And really Dick tries to not to, but his eyes linger on Jason’s impressive form for at least a second too long before he drags them back up to meet the others scrutiny. Dick sips his champagne just for something to do, but doesn’t look away from Jason’s steady gaze from over the flute delicate silver rim.

“You know what Sel? I think Richie and I are going to get along just fine.”


End file.
